Editing connections

Address book

An address book is a collection of records also called connections with each connection representing a remote PC. Connections have properties that define specific characteristics of a remote session, such as the destination address, access password, color depth and so on. Connections can be grouped into folders.

By default, address books are backed up daily. You can also enable local address book encryption in which case you'll need to enter your password each time you open the Viewer.

Internet-ID

The Internet ID® is a NAT-traversal (firewall bypass) technology used in Remote Utilities. This technology allows you to connect to a remote PC over the Internet without additional configuration of the firewall and/or router on the Host side.

An Internet ID connection is a connection type that uses the Internet ID technology.

Internet-ID code

An Internet ID code is a 12-digit number used as an address of the remote Host to establish an Internet ID connection. The code is generated on the Host side and is unique for each Host.

Internet-ID server

An Internet-ID server (also a relay server) is an intermediary server which is necessary for the Internet-ID technology to work. Our company provides free public server infrastructure which is the default choice for an Internet-ID connection created in the program. Alternatively, any user can install and configure a free self-hosted server and use it as an Internet-ID server instead of our public servers.

Host

The Host is a remote module installed on a target (i.e. remote) PC. This module works for both unattended and attended access.

You can access the Host settings through the Windows Start menu or by right-clicking its icon in the system tray.

Remote Utilities Security

Remote Utilities Security is one of the three authorization methods available in Remote Utilities and is the default option when you install RU Host for the first time. With this method enabled you can authorize on a remote Host either using a single access password or create different users with custom permissions.

Direct connection

With Remote Utilities you can directly access a remote Host. Unlike Internet ID connections, no relay servers are used to broker a direct connection. By definition, this is the fastest connection type available in Remote Utilities.

Generally, to establish a direct connection you must use the remote computer's IP address or DNS/hostname:

You can establish a direct connection over a private network (LAN or VPN) and over the Internet. Usually, when connecting over a private network, no network configurations are required on the Host side. If you connect over the Internet, you may need to set up your router properly, namely create a port forwarding rule. See more information in our documentation.

Full Control and View

Full Control is a connection mode that allows you to view the remote screen, move the remote mouse pointer and send clicks/keystrokes. In Remote Utilities this connection mode is used most often.

View Only mode, as the name implies, allows you to view the remote screen without access to the remote mouse pointer and keyboard. You can switch between Full Control and View only modes without closing the Full Control mode window, by clicking the corresponding icon on the toolbar.

Related links:

Each connection in the address book has individual properties. These properties define how exactly you connect to a specific remote PC, what color depth and connection type to use and so on. You can think of connections as saved sessions with certain parameters (properties).

Connection properties window

To access connection properties:

Right-click on the target connection in the address book and select Properties:

A connection properties window will open.

General

Name of connection — a descriptive name of the connection shown in the address book

Direct connection — select this for a point-to-point connection (i.e. without an intermediary server)

IP address or DNS name — specify the IP address or DNS name of the remote Host

Internet-ID connection — select this if you want to connect to a remote Host using Internet-ID

ID — specify the Internet-ID code of the remote Host

Internet-ID Server — specify which Internet-ID server to use

Use an old Internet-ID protocol (5.0) — this option was added for compatibility with older versions

Default connection properties

You can set default connection properties that will apply to all newly created connections. To set the default connection properties:

Open the Viewer, select the Tools tab and click Default Connection Properties:

Navigate to the available sections and set the desired properties. The Default connection properties window only contains properties that can be applied to multiple connections (i.e. without unique values).

Important!

Default connection properties will NOT apply to the connections already existing in your address book. For mass-editing existing connections, use the instructions below.

Editing multiple connections

Select multiple connections in your connection list by dragging the mouse pointer around them or using Shift/Ctrl + click:

Right-click the selection and select Properties:

The connection properties window will open. Only the properties that you can change for multiple connections will be shown. Set the desired options and click OK to apply the changes.